Musique et musiciens au XVIIe siècle : Correspondance et œuvres musicales - Huygens, Constantijn 1596-1687; Jonckbloet, W. J. A. 1817-1885; Land, Jan Pieter Nicolaas 1834-1897 (Leiden Brill, 1882)
cited in Koopman 1985, p. 13
The collection Pathodia sacra et profana contains compositions by the scholar and composer Constantijn Huygens. It contains 39 compositions for voice and basso continuo: twenty psalms and nineteen "airs", twelve of which are on Italian poems and seven on French. The first word in the title, "pathodia", is described by the musicologist Rudolf Rasch as a 'Huygenian neologism', a contraction of 'pathos' (feeling, passion) and 'odè' (singing). This word seems to indicate a relationship with Joan Albert Bans' 'musica flexanima'.
The name of the composer is missing from the title page of the 'Pathodia sacra et profana'. Instead it reads the cryptic "occupati", usually translated as "of a busy man". With this Huygens indicates that he is not a professional musician. In his letters, he often refers to his compositions.
Huygens' 'Pathodia sacra et profana' (1647); collotype printing by M.L. Verveer
Keywords: 17th Century (1601-1700); 19th Century (1801-1900); Correspondence; Music theory; Music history; Vocal music; Psalm; Air; Netherlands